Ft. Lauderdale Q&A/FAQ

[JSR]

In my opinion there is nothing like the Lowes in Fort Lauderdale. You might really enjoy the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, on the beach.

 

Also look up these hotels as they are all as nice like Lowes:

Lago Mar (the most resort-like, and on the beach)

Marriott Harbor Beach on the beach

Ritz Carlton across from the beach

W Hotel across from the beach

The last 2 are ideally located if you want to walk to restaurants and bars outside of the hotel.

 

You might also like the Boca Raton Resort. It is very large and has several restaurants and is a lovely property to relax by for a few days. The main hotel is a grand old hotel and they also have new villas and a new beachfront hotel. It's about 45 minutes north of FLL.

 

Thank you for your help. We are going to go with the Ritz Carlton. We meet someone on our Solstice cruise and they liked the Ritz. We decided we want to keep it simple and stay in FLL and not head down to SoBe which we love.

 

Any suggestions for travel to FLL in June with two teenage girls in Early June?

 

Thanks for the help

jean

[royalcruz]

Thank you for your help. We are going to go with the Ritz Carlton. We meet someone on our Solstice cruise and they liked the Ritz. We decided we want to keep it simple and stay in FLL and not head down to SoBe which we love.

 

Any suggestions for travel to FLL in June with two teenage girls in Early June?

 

Thanks for the help

jean

 

The Ritz Carlton is the most elegant hotel in Fort Lauderdale, and was opened as a St. Regis originally. It has a really nice wine bar with a deck overlooking the ocean.

 

For the trip with your girls, I would suggest Marriott Beach Place, right next door. It's right across from the beach, in the middle of everything, including shopping. They have suites and a decent pool. I'm not sure how great the service is, because it's a vacation club property. I would also considering renting a car for the day to go to Sawgrass Mills outlet mall...there is a big Forever 21 store there, as well as Juicy, Coach, etc.

[two4me]

Question for FL area, does any one know if there is a olive garden near the area of the airport/terminal. I see there is 6 in fl but not sure where they are compared to the airport/terminal.

we don't have them here any more so.....

thanks in advance!

[Bela]

I've been searching this thread without luck, so I'll just ask my ?

Thanks in advance :)

I'm renting a car in Orlando and driving to FLL to meet ship (a graduation in Daytona)Very short w/time. Which car rental co has drop off closest to Port Everglades or has a free shuttle to drop us off once we drop off the car?

 

This should help me when I go to Priceline to book the one-way rental.

Thanks again.

[tessa681]

Question: I'll be staying at the Comfort Inn South, is there a walgreens/publix/liquor store nearby? what is around that hotel?

thank you in advance for any help you can offer!!!

 

Stephanie

[can'tcatchup]

Lunch is reasonable just about everywhere that is opened. Here are some popular moderate ones:

Cheesecake Factory

Big City Tavern

Mango's

Noodles Panini

Le Bonne Crepe

Smith & Jones

 

Thanks again! I think we'd probably try something other than Cheesecake Factory since we have them locally. Le Bonne Crepe sounds appealing.

 

I think we've narrowed it down to doing the water taxi and lunching on Las Olas Blvd. after debarkation.... OR taking the ship excursion which brings us to the airport by 1 PM (flight is at 5:30), but more than likely it'll be the water taxi.

 

Just in case we do the other though, is there anyplace good/interesting to have lunch not far from the airport (not a very long cab ride, that is) after our 1 PM drop off there?

[royalcruz]

Thanks again! I think we'd probably try something other than Cheesecake Factory since we have them locally. Le Bonne Crepe sounds appealing.

 

I think we've narrowed it down to doing the water taxi and lunching on Las Olas Blvd. after debarkation.... OR taking the ship excursion which brings us to the airport by 1 PM (flight is at 5:30)' date=' but more than likely it'll be the water taxi.

 

Just in case we do the other though, is there anyplace good/interesting to have lunch not far from the airport (not a very long cab ride, that is) after our 1 PM drop off there?[/quote']

 

Le Bonne Crepe has big beautiful crepes. The only place closer to the airport that I would recommend for lunch would be Bimini Boatyard.

[royalcruz]

Question: I'll be staying at the Comfort Inn South, is there a walgreens/publix/liquor store nearby? what is around that hotel?

thank you in advance for any help you can offer!!!

 

Stephanie

 

You are staying by Oakwood Plaza. There is a BJ's and Kmart along with a bunch of other stores and fast food and chain restaurants. No drug/liquor/grocery.

[royalcruz]

Question for FL area, does any one know if there is a olive garden near the area of the airport/terminal. I see there is 6 in fl but not sure where they are compared to the airport/terminal.

we don't have them here any more so.....

thanks in advance!

 

The closest Olive Garden is about a 20 minute ride west of the airport in Plantation, or 25 minutes north in Fort Lauderdale. There is nothing close to the port/airport.

[38anchor]

Staying a few days pre cruise (Oasis) in FL and we are from the UK. We are spending a couple of nights at Hilton Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort and was wondering the following:-

 

Places to eat - where is good walking distance?

 

Heard Casablanca Cafe and H2O Cafe are meant to be good - how far to walk?

 

Is there a nearby convenience store for sodas, beers, groceries etc.

 

How long to walk to Galleria At Fort Lauderdale?

 

Are we too far away to walk to Las Olas?

 

 

Approx how much/how far in a taxi to Cheesecake Factory / Outback Steakhouse?

 

How much for a cab to take us to the port from the hotel?

 

Thanks in advance

[royalcruz]

Staying a few days pre cruise (Oasis) in FL and we are from the UK. We are spending a couple of nights at Hilton Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort and was wondering the following:-

 

Places to eat - where is good walking distance?

The closest restaurants are Trina in the Atlantic, 954 in the W, and Shula's Steak in the Westin. There is also a tapas restaurant in the Hilton.

 

Heard Casablanca Cafe and H2O Cafe are meant to be good - how far to walk? Those are my recommendations for the best non-hotel restaurants. Casablanca is about 4 blocks south and H20 is about 7 blocks south.

 

Is there a nearby convenience store for sodas, beers, groceries etc.

The Hilton has a convenience store but it's pricey. It's in the french bakery. There is a CVS drugs about 6 blocks south that has everything you want. If you walk about 4 blocks north, there is a block that has a few beach stores but I'm not sure what they sell.

 

How long to walk to Galleria At Fort Lauderdale?

about 1.5 miles. The public bus 40 also will take you right there.

 

Are we too far away to walk to Las Olas?

I think so. It's about 2.5 miles to where the shops start.

 

Approx how much/how far in a taxi to Cheesecake Factory / Outback Steakhouse? I'm just guessing, but $10 to Cheesecake and $20 to Outback, plus tip. I don't like Outback personally, but I think Cheesecake is one of the best chains in the US.

 

How much for a cab to take us to the port from the hotel?

about $20-25

 

Thanks in advance

see above

[tessa681]

You are staying by Oakwood Plaza. There is a BJ's and Kmart along with a bunch of other stores and fast food and chain restaurants. No drug/liquor/grocery.

 

I really appreciate the information! I'll just take a taxi to 17th then for the other things :p

[can'tcatchup]

The only place closer to the airport that I would recommend for lunch would be Bimini Boatyard.

 

I realize now how silly my question was. I keep forgetting that the airport is so close to everything in Ft. Lauderdale and was thinking of it as way out away from the port, Las Olas, etc.

 

Thanks again for everything! I think I'm all out of questions! :D

[PrincessE]

My husband and I are sailing out of FLL on the Grand Princess January 31st. We're flying in on January 29th.

 

We'd like a nice hotel, on the beach. Is it possible to be on the beach AND close to the cruise terminal? Is that even doable?

 

I've been to FLL many, many times but I can't remember anything about the layout of that town! We usually only fly in the night before and head straight to the ship, so I really don't know FLL at all.

 

We're willing to spend some $$$ for a nice place. We've stayed at shwag before and I'm not going for that this time.

 

If the hotel offers a shuttle from airport to hotel then hotel to pier, that would be great too.

 

Ohhh and one final note. We'd like a hotel that has a drugstore nearby, i.e., CVS, Walgreens, etc. We only fly with carry-on's so that means we have to buy our 'liquids' in FLL.

 

Thanks!!

[jmps]

Any suggestions for travel to FLL in June with two teenage girls in Early June?

 

Thanks for the help

jean

 

Our 17 YO daughter loved the Galleria Mall. We took the public bus from the Hyatt Pier 66 and it took us right there. This same bus goes right up the beach road. (Bus 40) It is also right by the Bonnet House that has some nice gardens.

[Brendarudd28]

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

We will be taking our first cruise at the end of September. We are coming into FLL two days before our cruise departs to start our vacation early. I've been reading this thread and have gotten a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, no one else has asked my questions, so I'll have to do it myself.

 

1. We have tenatively booked the Bahia Mar. Can anyone tell me whether this is a nice hotel and whether it's close to restaurants and activities? I know that there is a water taxi stop located nearby.

 

2. Our #2 option was going to be the Pelican Grand Resort. Is this a better choice nice-wise and location-wise? The price is pretty much the same as #1.

 

3. We would really love to do a charter sportfishing trip. Is there anyone the locals would recommend or maybe steer us away from?

 

4. We have one other ship in port when we're disembarking on October 3 (not the Oasis). Delta has cancelled the 12:20 p.m. flight and moved us to 11:15 a.m. Will we make it?

 

Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated! :)

[royalcruz]

My husband and I are sailing out of FLL on the Grand Princess January 31st. We're flying in on January 29th.

 

We'd like a nice hotel, on the beach. Is it possible to be on the beach AND close to the cruise terminal? Is that even doable?

 

I've been to FLL many, many times but I can't remember anything about the layout of that town! We usually only fly in the night before and head straight to the ship, so I really don't know FLL at all.

 

We're willing to spend some $$$ for a nice place. We've stayed at shwag before and I'm not going for that this time.

 

If the hotel offers a shuttle from airport to hotel then hotel to pier, that would be great too.

 

Ohhh and one final note. We'd like a hotel that has a drugstore nearby, i.e., CVS, Walgreens, etc. We only fly with carry-on's so that means we have to buy our 'liquids' in FLL.

 

Thanks!!

The nice hotels on the beach and near the port are Marriott Harbor Beach and Lago Mar, but there are no drugstores closeby. If you want a nice hotel right across the street from the beach, there is a Ritz Carlton and there is a CVS right next door at Beach Place. There is also a Sheraton right on the beach about a mile walk from the CVS. It was just renovated, but it's only a 3 star hotel. All of these are within 3 miles of the port.

[royalcruz]

Hello fellow cruisers!

 

We will be taking our first cruise at the end of September. We are coming into FLL two days before our cruise departs to start our vacation early. I've been reading this thread and have gotten a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately, no one else has asked my questions, so I'll have to do it myself.

 

1. We have tenatively booked the Bahia Mar. Can anyone tell me whether this is a nice hotel and whether it's close to restaurants and activities? I know that there is a water taxi stop located nearby.

The hotel isn't luxurious but is fine and in a good location. It's a short half mile walk to most of the restaurants and bars by the beach. There is a public park on the beach across the street. There is casual waterfront dining closeby at Bahia Cabana and Coconuts.

 

2. Our #2 option was going to be the Pelican Grand Resort. Is this a better choice nice-wise and location-wise? The price is pretty much the same as #1.

It is nicer than Bahia Mar, but not a good location. It's not in a place where people walk to anything from there unless you like to walk a mile before coming to anything.

 

3. We would really love to do a charter sportfishing trip. Is there anyone the locals would recommend or maybe steer us away from?

don't know about fishing or boating companies, sorry

 

4. We have one other ship in port when we're disembarking on October 3 (not the Oasis). Delta has cancelled the 12:20 p.m. flight and moved us to 11:15 a.m. Will we make it?

Probably, but any flights before noon are risky in case there are long lines at the airport or in case it takes a while to clear the ship. If you do an early walk-off, you should be fine.

 

Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated! :)

see above

[sbfanatic]

We will be flying into FLL the morning prior to our cruise on Emerald Princess. Is there any descent hotels in safe areas that has a shuttle pick up at the airport to their hotel and then a shuttle to the pier? Would the hotel be close to restaurants?

[phabric]

We will be flying into FLL the morning prior to our cruise on Emerald Princess. Is there any descent hotels in safe areas that has a shuttle pick up at the airport to their hotel and then a shuttle to the pier? Would the hotel be close to restaurants?

 

We just returned from the Emerald on Sunday.

 

We stayed at the Hyatt Place North. Free shuttle to/from hotel/airport/port, free continental breakfast and there are restaurants within walking distance.

 

Have a great time.

[royalcruz]

We will be flying into FLL the morning prior to our cruise on Emerald Princess. Is there any descent hotels in safe areas that has a shuttle pick up at the airport to their hotel and then a shuttle to the pier? Would the hotel be close to restaurants?

 

Hyatt Place FLL north, LaQuinta Hollywood and Sleep Inn Dania would meet these requirements. There are a few others, but these came to mind first.

[sbfanatic]

Thanks phabric and royalcruz for the info.

[RuthlessBunny]

I stayed here, it's right across from Sawgrass. Great, quiet and comfortable hotel.

[Brendarudd28]

Thank you RoyalCruz! You rock! :)

[coop24]

I'm sure you have answered this. What would be a good restraunt to eat at or does anyone deliver near the Hyatt place North for next Friday nigh?. We are landing in FLL around 730 p. We are a family of 4Thanks Carolyn